Peter Hackett’s classy final round performance at Wakefield Park Raceway this weekend saw him wrap up the 2005 Australian F4000 Championship title to become the first driver in history to win both an Australian Formula 4000 and Formula 3 ChampionshipDriving the N#1 Reynard faultlessly all year for RALT Australia, Hackett drove his team to their fourth consecutive F4000 Championship victory by securing pole, winning both races, clocking three fastest lap times and setting a new lap record of .56.30 seconds, breaking the lap record previously set by Johnny Reid in the same car and team.
All year he clearly demonstrated he is a leader not a follower. Winning nine out of 10 F4000 races and 10 out of 12 GT races in 2005 Hackett has established himself as one of Australia’s top drivers, totalling 19 races wins from 22 starts which earned him the lead in the F4000 and GT Championships simultaneously.
Hackett, who is also Team Lamborghini Australia’s number one driver, lead the GT Championship by 54 points going into the final round. His success in the “Black Bull” has not been easy, the result of the team incurring strict parity regulations after each race win. This eventually took its toll on the Diablo (8000/6300 revs) when it counted most and the Lamborghini was sidelined this weekend as a result of mechanical problems. Hackett’s DNF resulting in the Championship points being awarded to a rival team.
“Motor sport can be cruel at times,” states Hackett who now has his sights set on taking his career to the next level.
Hackett, the newly crowned F4000 Champion, maintains that “Focus” has been the key to his success this year.
“I’m well on my way to taking the next step in my career. Earlier this year I tested with the Australian A1GP Team and Team Australia Champ Car Atlantic Team and achieved great results. I have been approached by teams and am currently in negotiations to take a partnership to the next stage and am seeking external, combined with long standing current sponsorship.
“It has been a big year for me, the highly professional Team at RALT Australia have done an outstanding job on the Reynard all year, the car has been faultless and I couldn’t have won the Championship without them.
“A special thank you to Marco Caputo (The Benchmark Property Group) for directing and promoting my career and to all my sponsors and supporters, I can’t thank them enough for their continuing support. The next few months are going to be very exciting,” said Hackett.
